Nicole Matthews, originating from Kingston, Jamaica. Attended the University of the West Indies, Mona campus, Kingston, Jamaica where she obtained a B.A. (history and politics); the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, Barbados, where she obtained her LLB. She completed the Bar programme at the Norman Manley Law School, Kingston, Jamaica and was called to the Jamaican Bar in November 2001.

She emigrated to Toronto, Canada, where she pursued the National accreditation programme and the Ontario Bar Admission programme. She was called to the Ontario Bar in January 2007.

Nicole worked as a lawyer with a small boutique law firm in Toronto shortly after her call to the bar, with a focus on criminal and family laws. She relocated to the Hamilton area in August 2007 and pursued mostly criminal law, with an emphasis on youth criminal justice. Nicole later had the opportunity to pursue family law and threw herself into learning as much as possible about that niche area, with an emphasis on child protection and what was then known as custody (now decision-making) and access (now called parenting time).

Nicole operated her own law practice for over 15 years before deciding that she needed a change of pace. She is currently employed with Ogwadeni:deo, an indigenous child protection Agency in Ohsweken. Nicole is also the mother to two teenagers who think that they are also lawyers.